Into A Dream
by Aentiaa
Summary: When Romano begins to have strange dreams of a mysterious world filled with even stranger people he begins to shut himself inside his house trying to find meaning to the real feeling world. The deeper he goes in the more he begins to feel as if there is something wrong with the world. Is it really just a dream or is it something more?
1. Prologue

**Into a Dream**

**Prologue**

* * *

_The laughing man with the backwards head, the little girl with the pure white rabbit, the strange creature with three arms and the brown haired boy with the stolen smile. _

* * *

Romano sighed as he pressed the power button on his television remote. The once blank screen was filled with what appeared to be two women arguing over something, something Romano assumed would be unimportant and boring. The whole point of this show so far seemed terrible and worthless, so much so that Romano found himself mindlessly channel surfing.

"Stupid potato bastard" muttered Romano to himself. He reflected on the events that had transpired today, mostly his argument with his brother's 'bff for life' as Italy called it. It wasn't his fault; he couldn't help but hate the guy! The reason why? Romano didn't even know himself. The way that Italy stands up for that guy instead of him pisses him off.

Finding everything on the television boring, Romano pressed the power button once more and walked over to his bed. It looked so comfortable, and strangely inviting to him. He'd had enough of the world for today; sleep seemed like the best option. Not even bothering to take off his clothes Romano fell on the bed and instantly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Romano's eyes shot open instantly; he had no idea why he felt the need to so suddenly. When he opened his eyes though he wasn't where he was before. In front of him was a large crimson and black door with a gold trim. It seemed to back onto nothing; it wasn't attached to anything at all. In front of the door was a trail of red rose petals that lead to where Romano was laying. There was nothing else around but pure darkness; there wasn't even a single sound.

"Where the hell am I?" whispered Romano. Romano wouldn't deny it; he was slightly scared, as anyone would be waking up in place such as that. The place felt strange to him somehow, it didn't feel menacing like you would expect a place like this to be, it felt strangely safe to him. The Italian stood up and scooped his surroundings. He saw nothing else than the door and the petals, there was only darkness.

"Is anyone there?" he called. He was greeted by nothing. He didn't know what to do; he didn't know what to think. All he knew what that he wasn't in his bedroom anymore.

One thing definitely stuck out to him, the large door about ten feet away from him. He looked down at the rose petals at his feet and came to realization, that he should follow the rose petal path. There was nothing else he could do, that door was the one bit of 'light' in the whole area.

He began to follow the flower petals slowly, noticing how the closer he got to the door the fewer petals there were. Once he reached the door he began to examine its details. It seemed to be very well made; there wasn't a single chip or crack in any part of it. He felt part of the door, it was incredibly smooth. His hand reached for the door handle but hesitated, he had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side. For all he know it could just be more blackness or even something that could kill him. He swallowed hard and pondered his decision carefully. He knew he had no other choice; it was this door or nothing.

He closed his eyes tightly and opened the large door. Nothing happened. No large spout of light, no knife plunging into his chest, nothing. He slowly opened his eyes; he wasn't where he was before.

In front of him was a long wooden desk with a single piece of paper somewhere towards the center. Two large vases with long green reeds were in the bottom two corners of the room. A woman stood behind the large desk with a blank expression on her face, her eyes showed no emotion. Behind her was a tall cream wall with three large doors, they were evenly space apart. The floor was carpeted and the walls surrounding him were the same cream colour. It reminded Romano of a reception for a hotel.

He was greatly surprised by the sudden change of scenery, going from pitch black to a reception desk. The woman standing behind the desk stood out to him, mostly because she was the only living thing he had encountered so far. He walked up to her slowly, looking around the area as he did. He looked at her face; her eyes reminded him of a dead fish. They were soulless, blank and seemed to be deprived of any life in general.

"Could you tell me where I am?" asked Romano. The woman didn't reply to him but just stared blankly into his eyes.

"Hello, could tell me where I am?" he repeated assuming she couldn't hear him the first time. She stared at him and tilted her head to the side slowly. Romano did the same trying to understand what the woman was doing. The woman grinned widely; it sent shivers through Romano's spine.

"Could you just please tell me where I am?" Romano asked. The woman didn't respond. He found himself getting frustrated quickly with the woman, tilting his head to its original position. He soon caught sight of the piece of paper that had been sitting on the desk, he began to read.

_Never tell a lie, never be envious, never hold a grudge, never harm another, never place yourself before others, never break a promise, never break a rule, never break someone's heart, NEVER LOOSE WHAT IS PRECIOUS TO YOU._

Romano read through the list, it occurred to him that he had done many of these things before, more than once. The last rule written in capitals seemed to him a follow up of all the other rules, as if doing these things would make you lose something precious.

_Is that how you lose everyone?_

A voice, bitter and cold, suddenly ran through Romano's head.

"W-Who said that!?" exclaimed Romano. He looked at woman who just stared at him blankly and every other aspect of the room. The only people there were him and the stranger who seemed like she was incapable of talking in the first place. He shrugged it off and put the paper back on the desk, he assured himself that he had imagined it.

His attention was now focused on the three doors at the back of the room. He wondered where they lead. He walked up to the three doors and studied each of them; they all looked exactly the same.

"Should I go inside?" he whispered to himself. His hand hovered over the hand of the door farthest to the left; he felt a wave of fear wash over him. He pushed down the handle and pushed the door open.

He found himself in a rather small room with wooden flooring and white walls. Six tall bookcases were spread randomly around the room. It looked somewhat like a small library. Romano walked into the room, the door shut loudly behind him. He jumped at the random sound but managed to calm himself down upon realising it was only the door.

He walked over to one of the bookcases and began to look at the books. One thick book with a black leather cover stood out to him. He took the book out of the case and looked at the front of the book, it had no title, it was unnerving. He flipped through the pages swiftly, nothing was written on any of the pages.

"What a stupid book" he commented and slid into back into its place. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, he had no idea what he was doing. When he opened his eyes once more a man was standing in front of him. He had jet black hair cut in a similar style he knew, he couldn't quite figure out who though. He was wearing a black hoodie and blue denim jeans with black sneakers. The one thing that made him different to a normal person was the fact he was missing an eyes, only a hole left where it used to be. Romano jumped back in surprise at the appearance of the strange man.

"What the hell are you doing bastard!?" screamed Romano. The man laughed kindheartedly at Romano.

"Bastard is not a very nice way to talk to a person you just met" commented the man. _Holy crap, this one talks, _thought Romano. Romano couldn't stop staring at where the man's eye used to be, the man seemed to notice this.

"This thing?" asked the man pointing to the hole in his face, "this is where my eye used to be." Romano was shocked by the nonchalant way he explained missing a part of his face.

"H-How did that happen?" asked Romano shakily; he knew he couldn't hide his fear. This question causes the man's face to darken.

"I lost it protecting someone I love" he replied sadly, a look of regret on face. Romano highly doubted that.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" asked the man, "I haven't seen you before." This was the question Romano had been wondering himself the whole time.

"I don't know I woke up here" replied Romano. The man stretched his hand forward towards Romano.

"My name's Niotoan, what's yours?" asked Niotoan.

"Romano" he replied.

"What a strange name" commented Niotoan.

"Coming from you!" yelled Romano. Niotoan looked up at the ceiling before looking back at Romano.

"I guess it's time" stated Niotoan.

* * *

Romano woke up breathing heavily, looking around frantically. He was in his bedroom, lying underneath the covers. The more he looked at his surroundings the more he calmed down.

"It was just a dream" stated Romano.

_Then why… did it feel so real? _

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey, Aentiaa here! This is pretty much the first time I've wrote mystery, it probably isn't very good for that reason. I was originally going to use Italy but then I realised there's more potential with Romano. I have about five other fics to update and yet here I am writing a new one, I'm hopeless. Reviews are very much appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 1: Explanation

**Into a Dream**

**Chapter 1: Explanation**

* * *

Romano flopped down onto his bed and sighed. He was exhausted from spending the day picking tomatoes with that tomato bastard and arguing. When Spain left to go compliment Italy on how much of a 'good boy' he was Romano instantly left the two of them, he made sure to take the tomatoes though, he wasn't going to pick them just for that bastard.

"Damn stupid tomato bastard" muttered Romano turning on his side.

Why did he feel so sad?

Romano closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Romano slowly opened his eyes and instantly recognised where he was.

"Crap!" he yelled looking at the darkness around him. Just like it was the day before, Romano was laying in the middle of the darkness surrounded by rose petals.

"Why am I having this dream again?" asked Romano aloud picking himself off the ground. He was absolutely positive that what happened yesterday would happen all over again, that he would walk into a place that looked like a reception, get a weird look from the lady behind the counter, read a piece of paper, go into the door furthest to the left, examine a book with no title and talk to that Niotoan guy. Then, something hit Romano, how was he still dreaming if he realises it's a dream?

Romano walked down the rose petal path and to the large black and red door with gold trim. He pulled open the door and as predicted, he was greeted by the same place as yesterday. Something was different though, multiple things were.

The lady was frantically running around the area, checking under pot plants and underneath the desk. Niotoan was following behind her yelling for her to calm down. This was certainly different from yesterday. Romano didn't know what to make of this scene. As soon as Romano walked through the door Niotoan ran over to him with a distressed look on his face.

"Romano, I'm so glad you're here, we need your help!" exclaimed Niotoan.

"What, why?" asked Romano. He didn't feel in the mood to help these two, he had his own problems to deal with.

"You remember that piece of paper that was sitting on the desk yesterday?" asked Niotoan frantically.

"Yeah" replied Romano sceptically.

"It's gone missing!" yelled Niotoan.

"Why is that such an important problem?" asked Romano. He was getting tired of this guy. He was almost as annoying as Spain, almost.

"It just is okay, you have to help us find it!" exclaimed Niotoan.

"Fine, it's not like I have anything else to do" replied Romano with a sigh.

"Thank you so much Romano, as a reward I'll take you to my favourite place here after we're done!" exclaimed Niotoan grabbing Romano's hands. Romano pulled his hands away from the other man.

"What the hell are you doing bastard!" yelled Romano. Niotoan only smiled before going over to the lady.

"Hey Erut, Romano and I are going to look for the paper in some other area, okay" explained Niotoan. Erut nodded in reply and went back to looking inside a vase. Romano was surprised that the mute woman had a name, how could someone that couldn't talk tell someone their name.

"Where do you think we should look first Romano?" asked Niotoan.

"You know this place a lot better than I do idiot, you decide" retorted Romano.

"Let's start by going to The Forest" stated Niotoan.

"You mean you have names for all of these places? Just how many places are there in this world anyway?" asked Romano.

"I'll explain to you once we get in The Forest, it's just behind the door furthest to the right" replied Niotoan with a smile.

* * *

"This is The Forest" stated Niotoan. Most of the area consisted of trees with paths of short, light green grass through the gaps. All in all it was just an ordinary forest.

"It looks just like a normal forest" stated Romano.

"That's because it is one" replied Niotoan happily. The two began to walk through the forest paths; Romano was especially intrigued by the scenery around him.

"You were going to explain about how many areas and stuff there are in this place" stated Romano.

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot. There are many, many areas in this world, some that people still haven't come across yet. As a way to make it easier to guide our way around this place we named each other of the areas. This area as I mentioned earlier is called The Forest for obvious reasons. The area you were just in before is called The Reception and the place with the six bookcases you were in yesterday is called The Petite Library. The place on the other side of that door you came through is called The Entrance, not many people go there though" explained Niotoan.

"You keep saying 'we' and other 'people', what do you mean by that? Do other people live in this world?" asked Romano.

"Yep, lots of other people. Erut and I aren't the only people that live in this world, we're just the only ones you've met" replied Niotoan.

"What's with that chick anyway, rude bastard" complained Romano.

"You've probably misunderstood; Erut is a really nice person. The thing is she can't talk, no matter how much she wants to. Since we've never known her full name we called her Erut Eelfigns, Erut for short" explained Niotoan. Romano couldn't believe how smart his subconscious was, maybe even better than Veneziano's.

"Sorry if this is all too much for you to hear at one time" stated Niotoan.

"It's fine, bastard" replied Romano with a sigh.

"If you get to call me bastard, I get to call you something" stated Niotoan, "do other people call you anything?"

"This one bastard calls me Lovi but it's really annoying" replied Romano angrily, thinking about how he ran away from Spain today.

"Hey Lovi, look at that" stated Niotoan, pointing a building in front of them.

"Who said you can call me that bastard!?" yelled Romano. Once he realised he wasn't getting a response from the other man he looked up at where Niotoan was pointing. A small dilapidated cabin was standing in the middle of a clearing. The windows were lacing glass and the door that should've been attached to the building was laying face-down on the ground. Most of the walls were cracked or had large chips out of them.

"I've never seen this place before" commented Niotoan.

"Don't you live here, how haven't you seen this place before!?" exclaimed Romano.

"This forest is so big that I've never really explored all of it" explained Niotoan. Something didn't feel right about the cabin to Romano, it felt menacing.

"I think we should go inside, the paper might be inside" suggested Niotoan.

"What would the paper be doing in there?" asked Romano.

"Someone could've stolen it and dumped it here where no one would find it" replied Niotoan.

"So there are idiots in this world as well?" asked Romano.

"Like you wouldn't believe" responded Niotoan.

* * *

Niotoan and Romano walked inside the cabin carefully. Romano refused to admit it but he was terrified, he had this bad feeling in his stomach, like something horrifying was going to happen. Niotoan on the other hand looked completely calm; Romano couldn't tell if that was the truth or if he was just faking it.

The inside of the cabin was no much nicer than the outside. The wooden floor was chipped and had various holes, making it very hard to walk on. There were two sets of bunk beds on the northern wall with lumps of sheets on top of them. On the bottom left corner of the room was a lamp base sitting on a table, the blub and shade were shattered on the ground.

"This place is creepy" commented Niotoan.

"C-Can we leave?" asked Romano.

"Are you scared Romano?" asked Niotoan.

"Of course not bastard!" yelled Romano.

"Don't worry, Niotoan will protect you!" exclaimed Niotoan exclaimed pointing to himself and grinning widely. The grinning man reminded Romano of his former boss, the one he had run off on today.

"You're just like that tomato bastard" muttered Romano wandering through the cabin. Romano spotted something underneath the table; he knelt down to retrieve it. In his hand he held a black eye patch; it instantly reminded him of his one-eyed companion.

"Hey Niotoan, I found this eye-patch, do you want it?" asked Romano turning to said man.

"How dare you even say that to me Romano! I will never, ever cover up where my eye used to be! I can't, I never will! Get that thing away from me!" screamed Niotoan. Niotoan fell to his knees and put his hands over his eyes. He began to sob violently and shake uncontrollably. Romano didn't know what to do; he had always seemed so strong and cheerful. On top of that, Romano wasn't the comforting type; he had no idea what to do.

"Uh Niotoan, did I say something wrong?" asked Romano. The man took his hands away from his face and looked at Romano, tears still running down his face from his one eyes.

"No, I'm really sorry Romano. It's just that… that brought back a few bad memories" explained Niotoan.

"Let's go back to The Reception, it looks like the paper isn't here" suggested Niotoan whilst he wiped the tears off his face.

* * *

"You found it!" exclaimed Niotoan. Erut nodded in reply.

"Where was it?" asked Niotoan. Erut pointed to the door in the middle of the three.

"I'm glad you found it" stated Niotoan, neh then turned to face Romano.

"Thank you too Romano, for helping find it" said Niotoan.

"No problem" replied Romano with a blank expression. Niotoan looked up at the roof before looking back down at Romano.

"Looks like you have to go, I'm sorry that I didn't get to show you that place. We'll do it tomorrow; I'll invite some of my friends! See you tomorrow Lovi!" stated Niotoan happily.

"What do you mean to" stated Romano.

* * *

Romano opened his eyes and looked around him.

"I'm having some crazy dreams lately" he stated.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh Romano, you crazy. So the next chapter a few more of the characters will be revealed. **


	3. Chapter 2: Stars

Into a Dream

Chapter 2: Stars

* * *

For the twentieth time today Romano's cell phone began to ring. The Italian stared down at the piece of technology in frustration, that ringtone was starting to get on his nerves. He walked over to the phone and flipped it open; the call was from Spain, just like all of the others were.

"I'm not answering you bastard" muttered Romano. He flipped the phone down and let it continue to ring until it came to an abrupt stop. A chime sound then came from the phone, indicating someone had left a message. Romano couldn't be bothered listening to yet another message, they all pretty much said the same thing. From what Romano had heard so far it sounded like Spain thought he'd been kidnapped or something and was begging for the captor to return him.

"I'm going to sleep" murmured Romano before curling up on his bed.

* * *

"Again!" exclaimed Romano as woke up in the place Niotoan had referred to as The Entrance. He was really starting to worry about his mental state at this point, who the hell has dreams like this every night?

Just as he did the days before, Romano entered through the door to The Reception. Erut was standing idly behind the desk, her hands in together in front of her. Her red hair was tied up in a high ponytail, her plain white uniform looked more neat that usual, not as creased.

"Are you Romano?" asked a voice. Romano turned around to be greeted by an unfamiliar person. A man with a goofy grin and large angel wings was standing in front of him. He had light brown hair with a small curl similar to Romano's. He was wearing large black headphones with a pink tint with the number one engraved on them, a grey jacket and black skinny jeans. Romano thought Niotoan was the weirdest person he'd seen, having wings was something else.

"W-Who the hell are you!?" yelled Romano.

"Me? My name is Cefialino!" he replied happily with a large smile. Just as Romano was beginning to ponder the weird names of the residents in this messed up world his arm was grabbed by Cefialino.

"What are you doing bastard!?" I yelled.

"Niotoan asked me to come and take you to him" replied Cefialino.

"Niotoan, why?" asked Romano.

"He said that he was supposed to show you some place yesterday but you had to leave before you two got the chance to go" explained Cefialino. Romano did remember the bastard saying something similar to that before he woke up.

"Where exactly is he?" asked Romano. Cefialino put his finger over his mouth.

"He said I can't tell you" replied Cefialino. Romano groaned and followed the lead of the shorter man. From what Romano had seen so far, he acted almost exactly like his brother. He did have to wonder why he was wearing headphones when he wasn't listening to any music though. Cefialino opened the door for The Petite Library open for Romano and motioned him to come over.

"It's just in here, come on!" exclaimed Cefialino happily. Romano let out a growl of frustration and followed his shorter companion. Upon entering the Petite Library, Cefialino was standing beside one of the bookcases browsing through the titles.

"I found you said you were taking me to Niotoan, why are you looking at books?" asked Romano.

"You'll see in a second!" chimed Cefialino. Cefialino pulled out a purple leather book from the bookshelf and waved to Lovino.

"Come over here, we need to be together to do this" he stated happily. Romano unenthusiastically walked over to the man and looked at the book. The title of the book read 'Sandy Beach'.

"Why are we looking at a book?" asked Romano.

"You'll see" replied Cefialino. Cefialino began to skim through the book until he reached a certain page. On said page was the word 'password?'

"What does this have to do with anything?" asked Romano. Suddenly, the other man grabbed Romano's hand tightly.

"Just don't let go of my hand, okay" stated Cefialino, "yawa meht ekat tond." The book suddenly began to glow a bright yellow, Romano shielded his eyes from the light.

"What the hell!" yelled Romano.

* * *

Romano opened his eyes he wasn't in the Petit Library anymore. He was outside of a stone house which was surrounded by trees. Along with the stars of the night sky Romano could also see Cefialino's face looking down at him.

"What the hell was that just now!?" exclaimed Romano as he sat up.

"This is where Niotoan told me to bring you! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!" pleaded Cefialino as tears formed in his eyes. He really was just like his brother.

"Don't worry about it, if it was his idea then I guess it's not entirely your fault. Where is the bastard anyway?" asked Romano as he looked all around him. If he was anything like Spain he was come up from behind him and hug him. Then again, he'd probably run away and try and find Italy instead.

"He's probably inside. Let's go meet him" suggested Feliciano as he stretched his hand out to me. I took his hand. Romano wasn't the type to usually take people's hands when they were extended to him but this was different, he felt really tired for some reason. Was it possible to be tired inside a dream?

"Let's go!" exclaimed Cefialino as he walked forward, still holding Romano's hand. Romano pulled his hand away and walked alongside the other man. He was humming a tune to himself, it sounded rather catchy. The duo entered the house and were greeted by the sound of something being baked in an oven. Niotoan was pulling something out of said oven when they walked in and when he noticed their arrival he turned to face them and smiled.

"Hey Cefialino, Romano! I'm so glad you're here. Are you ready for our super secret plan Cefialino?" asked Niotoan excitedly. Romano couldn't help but wonder exactly how horrible this 'super secret plan' was going to be.

"What plan?" asked Romano as he glared at Niotoan.

"We're going to go star gazing of course!" exclaimed Niotoan as he smiled brightly.

* * *

Romano didn't understand exactly how he ended up star gazing with them. He didn't understand why he was actually starting to enjoy it somewhat.

"These stars are so pretty! This cake you made is really great too Niotoan!" exclaimed Cefialino as the trio gazed up at the stars. The stars shone so brightly, Romano didn't understand how this could be a dream.

"Oh Roma, you have to go now" stated Niotoan sadly.

"What?" asked Romano.

"I'll miss you" said Cefialino.

"What?"

* * *

Romano woke up to a dark room and the realisation he had just had another one of those 'weird dreams'. What disturbed him more was that he was starting to enjoy these dreams more than reality.


	4. Chapter 3: The Little Black Box

Into A Dream

Chapter 3: The Little Black Box

* * *

'Hey Roma, I don't know whether your phone is flat or you can't hear when I'm calling you but please call me back! I'm worried about you! Have you been hurt by someone? Do you need help? Please answer me Roma…' Romano stared at the message on the screen of his mobile phone. The bastard sounded desperate. He couldn't figure out whether or not he should message back or did.

_Then again, this is all probably just some ruse to make him look like he caved in easily. He will always prefer Veneziano more than, things never change. I was an idiot to think they could._

Romano hadn't seen either his brother of the 'tomato bastard' in days, he didn't feel the need to leave the house. There was nothing important waiting for him out there. Spain was busy praising Feliciano and Feliciano was latching onto the 'potato bastard'. It all made him so frustrated. Why couldn't he be praised or loved?

The only thing that Romano seemed to enjoy lately was his dreams. In his dreams he was the focus of all the attention. In his dreams he had something to do, people wanted to see him. He looked over at his bed, he had only just woken up, he wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. He needed to find something else to do. Everything just seemed so uninteresting. _I might as well reply to that bastard Spain, _he though.

'Stop fucking texting me bastard.' It was the most appropriate message Romano could think of. He pressed the send button on his IPhone. It wasn't long until the phone buzzed and a new message from Spain appeared on the screen. Since the message was so long he had to type in his password to enter his phone and see it all.

'Romano, are you okay? You just randomly left when we were picking tomatoes… I thought someone might have captured you Roma. Please tell me where you went…' Were those dots supposed to make him feel bad? There was no way he would left some dots control how he feels. Before he knew it him and Antonio were texting flat-out.

'I go where I fucking want. Stop acting like you care. Just fuck off.'

'Roma, what's gotten into you? Of course I care about you!'

'I don't have the patience for your shit Spain. You don't give a single fuck. Why don't you just go and fucking worship Veneziano, it's what everyone else does. You're no different; actually, you're even fucking worse!' Romano was sick of fighting with him, it was pointless. He threw his phone onto the carpet and stomped over to couch and flopped down.

What was this? Romano felt something running down his cheeks? It couldn't be raining inside could it? He felt his cheeks, it was definitely liquid. But where the hell was it coming from? He patted his face in search of where liquid could possibly be coming from. What the hell. He felt it coming from his eyes. He couldn't crying, could he?

"I'm… crying?" whispered Romano to himself. Fuck it all. He went to sleep.

* * *

Romano's eyes shot open, he wasn't in his living room anymore. Wasn't he just crying a second ago? He wasn't in the Entrance though but in a place he had never been in before. The world around him was completely black and white. He was standing on a white ground surrounded by white tents with a black outline. The sky was completely except for the white moon which could only be defined as different to the sky because of its black outline.

"Where the hell am I?" asked Romano. Romano was expecting to wake up in the place he usually did, not in some camp like place. Even though it was a camp there were no people around him. It was abandoned. With no other idea of what to do Romano went over to one of the tents and stepped inside. No one, nothing.

"What the hell?" he asked himself. He began to explore all of the tents one by one hoping to find something or someone that could help him. He entered a tent that looked like any other. Although, unlike the other tents there was something inside, a black box. Nothing else. There were no intricate patterns on it and it didn't seem like it had any purpose either. It just sat in the middle of the tent, idly.

"What's this for?" whispered Romano to himself. He walked towards the box and picked it up slowly. Nothing happened when it he touched it, it didn't make a sound, it didn't move. Romano couldn't help but wonder what the box's purpose was. It had no other boxes around it, it was alone. It wasn't like the box was being used for anything, it was completely hollow. It didn't attempt to move towards another person if it was approached, like it was afraid of other people. In a way, the box was much like Romano, trapped in its own little tent with no other people.

Romano put the box down where it once was. He had checked almost all the other tents and it hadn't leaded him anywhere. Maybe there was more to this box than meets the eye. No how much he touched it though nothing happened, he even tried speaking to it but nothing happened. Suddenly, Romano had an idea. He picked up the box and wrapped it in his arms. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it; it was like a light switch suddenly went on in his head. Suddenly, the box imploded with a flash of light and Romano was sucked in, is this what he deserved?

* * *

When Romano woke up he wasn't in the tent. The area was anything but enclosed; it was open, eerily open. The place he was now was completely black but he could still see anything around him. Random puddles of blood were scattered sparingly around him.

"What the…?" started Romano but trailed off as a figure came into focus. Standing across from him was a man that looked exactly like him but with a completely white face. The only thing on his face was a large black grin that almost went from one side of his face to the other.

"Italy Romano" the figure stated coolly. Romano couldn't believe it. There was another him standing right in front of him. The other him stretched out his hand towards Romano, his grin seemed to grow.

"Why don't you come with me?" he offered. Romano stood perfectly still with his eyes focused on the figure's hand.

"I-I" said Romano shakily. The figure drew its hand back to its fine, its smile shorter.

"So you don't want to then? What a shame. I am you after all, you should listen to me. Yes that's right, I am you Romano. I know everything about you, everything you do. I am you, you are me" it explained sadistically as he walked closer to Romano.

"I know you're fighting with Spain at the moment. You also don't seem too happy with your little brother. You're just like that box you know. Sitting alone in your little tent while the world around you continues to pass on by. Yet, if anyone enters your little tent you don't go near them, you're too afraid they might hurt you. So eventually they all leave your little tent, you were thinking about leaving that little box weren't you?" teased the thing as it grabbed a strand of Romano's hair and let it fall through its fingers.

"Y-You're right, I am like the box" whispered Romano, eyes wide. It laughed quietly and continued to circle around the country. It took pleasure from his pain, from his fear, from his insecurities.

"But what to do now that you've figured that out. You've already scared everyone off so I'm all you have left. In fact, you got rid of Spain when you were only a child. He tried to trade you for Veneziano remember? Veneziano has Germany now, he doesn't need you anymore. All you have left is yourself, me. So why don't you take my hand and we'll always be together, just us" it offered. It stopped walking in front Romano and offered its hand.

"You're right" stated Romano slowly. There was no longer any fear in his voice; it was devoid of any emotion. His eyes were blank as well, they were soulless. He began to reach out towards its hand…

* * *

Romano's eyes snapped open. His eyes darted frantically around the room. The sound of chimes could be heard in his room, it was doorbell. It was that sound that had somehow snapped him out of the dream world. Who the hell was ringing his doorbell though?

Romano slowly got up muttering a string of curse words and looked at the intercom. It was Spain standing outside of his door with a frown on his face. _Heh, serves the bastard right. I knew he'd come crawling back. _Romano went to open the door but froze as he almost reached the doorknob. He remembered the words of the figure from his dreams and decided opening the door would only lead to him hurting someone.

* * *

Author's Note: For some reason I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Maybe I'm just cynical like that, haha. Thanks for reading :D


	5. Chapter 4: The Strange Figure

Into A Dream

Chapter 4: The Strange Figure

* * *

Romano stared at the Spaniard standing outside his door through the intercom. If he was like the little black box then Spain would just leave him and his world. If he let him in he would only push him away. It was inevitable.

"Why am I listening to a dream?" muttered Romano. That was right; it wasn't like that _thing _was actually real. He made it up, his mind created it. Then, that was just more proof that thing was part of him and that somewhere deep down inside of him he thought the same things at it did.

"Hey Lovi, I know you're home! Please open the door!" called Spain. He knocked on the door with a pained expression. Romano felt guilty about leaving Spain out there but he knew he would only hurt him if he let him in. So he walked away. He didn't look back, he didn't acknowledge the man, he just walked away. Spain continued to knock on his door, he didn't get a reply.

What was there for him to do now though? He couldn't exactly leave the house with Spain out there. In fact, even if Spain wasn't there he didn't feel the need to leave the house. There was nothing out there for him, only hatred. They had Italy; they didn't even bother to call him South Italy anymore. Only Veneziano was Italy and he was Romano, he was just there. They didn't need him.

He could watch TV but there probably wasn't anything good on. His eyes wandered over to his bed. Why was he so tired, wasn't he just asleep? Despite the dreams he had previously and the fact that Spain was banging on his door he curled up on his bed and fell back asleep.

* * *

"Hey Romano! Wake up!" yelled a voice. Romano opened his eyes and saw Niotoan and Cefialino staring down at him. From what Romano could see they were in the Entrance.

"I'm awake" mumbled Romano. Niotoan and Cefialino looked at each other and smiled.

"When we found you here we were so worried! Usually you wake up straight away after coming here" explained Niotoan. Huh, these two were more worried about him then the people in the real world were.

"Yeah, when I was here before I met some fucking weird… _thing" _replied Romano.

"Some _thing_?" asked Cefialino. Romano explained what had happened in his last dream. Throughout his explanation Niotoan's face grew grimmer and grimmer. He knew something and Romano could tell.

"You say he had a completely white face?" asked Niotoan. Romano nodded.

"That's bad Romano. Remember how I told you I lost my eye loosing someone I love?" asked Niotoan.

"Yeah, back when we were in the woods" replied Romano. Cefialino tensed and looked away from the other two around him.

"I once had a friend who lived with him. One day though, this guy with a completely white face came to our farm. It's not unusual to see people with strange appearances around here so I didn't think anything of him, just another customer, I thought. However, he acted very differently. Here, I'll put a projection up for you" explained Niotoan. Suddenly, a bright light covered Romano's eyes.

"_Welcome! How may I help you today sir?" asked Niotoan. He was standing in his front yard with a bowl of tomatoes in his arms. A man with a completely white face and grin had just entered his yard. Niotoan thought nothing much of him, he was just another customer like anyone else. He got no reply from the strange man._

"_Can I help you?" he asked again. He still got no response. Instead, the strange man walked past him and headed to the front door of the house._

"_Wait up a second! Hey!" called Niotoan. He jogged after the strange man. He stepped inside Niotoan's home. Inside Niotoan's friend, Nolivo, was sitting in the living room eating a tomato. _

"_You can't go in here! This is my house" explained Niotoan. The man simply ignored him and continued to walk. He stopped directly in front of Nolivo who was looking very confused byt his point. _

"_Niotoan, who's this?" asked Nolivo. The strange man picked Nolivo up by his collar and lifted him off the ground._

"_Let go of me!" yelled Nolivo._

"_Nolivo!" yelled Niotoan. Niotoan sprinted over to the strange man and tried to remove his hand from Nolivo's collar. The strange man eventually let go but seemingly out of nowhere a knife appeared in his hand._

"_Run Nolivo!" screamed Niotoan. He heard the figure laugh quietly to itself. Its voice was high pitched and childish. _

"_Dammit" muttered Nolivo. The figure twirled the knife in its hand like a baton and smile wider. It then sat on top of Nolivo and pointed the knife towards his face. He traced his cheek with the blade and giggled._

"_Die you fucking bastard!" yelled Nolivo as he threw a chair at the figure. It only flinched as the furniture made contact with his pure black skin. It didn't leave a scratch. The figure pointed its knife at Nolivo's eye and drew it closer. Niotoan couldn't move, he was frozen with fear much like Nolivo who was staring at the scene in horror. The figure stabbed the knife the knife into Niotoan's eye._

"_Niotoan!" yelled Nolivo. Nolivo ran over to his friend but the figure knocked him instantly out of the way. Niotoan screamed out in pain as the figure began to stab him repeatedly in the eye. It giggled as it did this, it seemed to enjoy it. Eventually, his eyes was nothing but liquid. Niotoan never stopped screaming after that, he was in pure agony. He could still feel the knife being plunged into his eye as he flailed on the ground._

_The strange figure went up to the Nolivo as he grabbed him once again. It said nothing as he took the knife and plunged it straight into his heart. Niotoan watched with his one good eye and screamed even louder than he was before. The thing killed Nolivo and left his corpse in a crumpled heap on the lounge room floor. _

After finishing this story Niotoan burst out crying and clutching at where his eyes used to be. Cefialino wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer.

"Nolivo was my brother as well. We don't know why that thing did those things" explained Cefialino quietly.

"By the sounds of things that thing is taking on a different form now. It has taken on your shape now. I have a suspicion that it's trying to kill you now. Although, I don't understand why it would take on your from to do that though" suggested Niotoan between sobs.

"Oh no, it looks like you have to wake up" muttered Cefialino. Romano felt himself disappearing again. Although, just before he dissolved completely he saw Niotoan smile. It wasn't a kind smile though, it was a sadistic grin.

* * *

Romano woke up on his bed. He began to consider the possibility that his dreams would make a really good book or play. 'Into A Dream' he would call it. Romano went and checked the intercom to see if the Spaniard was still outside. Romano walked over there with the strong idea that Spain would be long gone. However, when he checked the small screen he saw the emerald eyed man sitting on his doorstep with a frown. He sighed, something about seeing Niotoan like that made him wonder if was taking his former boss for granted. He opened the front door and Spain immediately turned to face him.

"Lovi!" exclaimed Spain. Romano looked the other way.

"Come in bastard" he muttered.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading :D


End file.
